MVN: Most Valuable Network

May all yall have a blessed New Year, happy and healthy.

Many thanks to all yall who come here and make this worth my time. And my Husband, too is grateful, because THIS way, he can concentrate on important things, like basketball and whatever football team is doing whatever and he doesn't have to pretend to be listening to me, which is tough for men to do more than like 3 seconds...

So onto Astros news:

1 - BAD news: Max Sapp, age 20, the Astros #1 pick in 2006, caught spinal meningitis from a sinus infection and has been in the ICU on a respirator for 2 weeks and the poor guy is still having seizures.

My Mama told me about this yesterday, and her still beautiful face was gray with sorrow and pity for the boy. You see, us kids were born between 1970 and 1980, when there were no vaccines for that terrible disease, which appeared out of nowhere, gave almost no warning, except for a fussy, feverish baby, who was all too suddenly dead, severely handicapped, or at best, just deaf. Back then, the words "spinal meningitis" made any Mami's blood run cold with fear, as way too many parents knew someone whose child had caught it and dies, or whose own child, even had died.

Thank God for the vaccines that protected MY babies, and other Mamis babies against spinal meningitis. I have never understood parents who would prefer to have ther children catch it and then hope they would catch it in time for doctors to cure it before it kills their babies.

I guess poor Max caught one of the rare kinds there is no vaccine for.

Poor guy. Let us all pray/hope that not only does he manage to survive, but that he eventually is able to heal and lead even a normal life. I would call it a miracle if he is even able to catch or throw a baseball again, let alone hit one. Not that the poor boy hit real too many BEFORE he caught spinal meningtis. Strange that the Astros picked 2 high school catchers, Ralph Henriquez and Max Sapp in the first 2 rounds and neither one was able to hit a lick even in the rookie league/low minors.

I still wonder of so many prospects fail because the tasks are simply too difficult for whatever talent they had, or if they were failed by their teachers.

2 - Somewhat better news: John Sickels of www.minorleagueball.com sez (translated) the Astros farm system sux. Duh.

Now, please keep in mind that John is the kind of guy whose top grade is a B and essentially, to get so much as an A- you have to be Evan Longoria. (I wonder how many grades he gives out above B each year - I would bet it's not more than 5). So keeping that in mind, here is his ranking of the top 20, and note that J.R. Towles doesn't appear ANYWHERE on the list. Guess that Sickels agrees with the Astros Organization that Towles is finished...

1) Jason Castro, C, Grade B: Good glove, should provide some power, not sure if he'll hit enough to be a genuine star or just a solid player.

2) Brian Bogusevic, OF, Grade B-: Good plate discipline, should hit for average, but lack of home run power may make him a fourth outfielder. However, you have to like the rapid adjustment he made, and the power may still come.

3) Bud Norris, RHP, Grade B-: Throws hard, but doesn't change speeds well and seems better-suited to bullpen work than starting.

4) Jordan Lyles, RHP, Grade B-: Very projectable young arm but will need time to develop.

5) Ross Seaton, RHP, Grade B-: Another very projectable young arm and a local kid. For some reason I'm optimistic about him and Lyles.

6) Felipe Paulino, RHP, Grade C+: If healthy, could rank B- and ahead of Lyles and Seaton. Great stuff, but role and condition of arm are uncertain.

7) Drew Sutton, 2B, Grade C+: I see him as a useful role player due to broad secondary skills.

8) Chris Johnson, 3B, Grade C+: Hasn't hit outside the Texas League. I've seen both Sutton and Johnson play. Johnson has better tools but Sutton is far more polished and skillful.

9) Sam Gervacio, RHP, Grade C+: Decent stuff and weird delivery, should be good middle reliever.

10) Chia-Jen-Lo, RHP, Grade C+: Hard to grade. Scouting reports indicate a polished guy who could be a decent fourth/fifth starter or a good long reliever, but doesn't have upside beyond that.

11) Collin DeLome, OF, Grade C: Good power, some speed, but bad strike zone judgment will hold him back.

12) Sergio Perez, RHP, Grade C: Injured in regular season, but did well in Arizona Fall League. Could be fourth/fifth starter but might dominate more in the pen.

13) Polin Trinidad, LHP, Grade C: Average stuff but can throw strikes, fifth starter type.

14) T.J. Steele, OF, Grade C: Good tools, power and speed, but very raw for a college guy, with major strike zone problems.

15) J.B. Shuck, OF, Grade C: Showed no power in college, but hit with authority in NY-P. Athletic, good plate discipline, more polished than Steele but not as much upside.

16) Jay Austin, OF, Grade C: Very toolsy high school kid, could not hit Appalachian League pitching but is young enough to improve.

17) Federico Hernandez, C, Grade C: Very good defensive catcher, bat may be questionable at higher levels but at least he makes some contact.

18) Leandro Cespedes, RHP, Grade C: Average stuff, but good K/BB and K/IP marks in the Sally League. Will this carry forward?

19) Phil Disher, 1B, Grade C: Monster numbers in the NY-P League, excellent power, but horrible glove and high strikeout rate limit his grade at this time.

20) Tim Torres, SS, Grade C: Older prospect, but has some skills and could be on the Drew Sutton sleeper path.

Others: Fernando Abad, LHP; Douglas Arguello, LHP; Koby Clemens, C; Luis Cruz, LHP; Gilbert De La Vara, LHP; David Duncan, LHP; Brad Dydalewicz, LHP; Mitch Einertson, OF; Chris Hicks, RHP; Eli Iorg, OF; Brad James, RHP; Tommy Manzella, SS.

I don't know on what basis Sickels assigns his grades, or how much he relies on his own scouting vs reports from the Organizations, but I am at a total loss to understand the placement of Felipe Paulino at #6. After having watched him my own self, as well as reports from Astros fans who watched him at both AA and AAA, I can't so much as begin to understand how a guy who has neither good pitches nor command is considered as a prospect at ALL.

I would also point out that only 7 of the 20 have played at least AA ball, and that 10 of the 20 are in rookie ball/low A and I think it is, shall we say, incredibly difficult to project these guys. And how the HECK can you possibly rate a prospect who hasn't thrown even a SINGLE pitch in pro ball in America???

3 - reasonably good news: the Astros signed 29 yo RHP Clay Hensley to a minor league deal. A cheap, low risk, high reward sort of signing. Bout freaking time. (Unlike the Boone, Kata, Michaels/other crappy/scrappy guys signed to MAJOR league contracts.)

Clay is a local boy (Tomball) who went to Lamar and was picked in the 8th round of the 02 draft by the Giants, who have historically had a MUCH better eye at selecting pitching talent than hitting talent. He was traded to the Padres the next summer for reliever Matt Herges (remember that the Giants were still actually good in 03 - thank you Barry Lamar - and speaking of Barry Lamar, Hensley gave up his 755th homer.)

I suppose I should talk mention that in 2002, the Astros top 8 draft picks were:

Dereck Grigsby (A ball - now OOB), Mitch Talbot (traded to the D-Rays for Aubrey Worthless Huff), Rory Shortell (AA - now OOB), Mark McLemore (who COULD have been good if not for injuries - maybe he might could some day youneverknow), Pat Misch (who went unsugned), JP Duran (1 year in rookie ball), Scott Robinson (high A ) and Bill Westhoff (high A). 

But I digress...

Anyway, Hensley, is my favorite kind of pitcher, a "short" thinnish righty - supposedly 5'11" 175 lb (which sounds like a normal size man to me, but hey, I'm not obsessed with believing that all right pitchers should look exactly like Clemens if they are gonna be any good).

He was strictly a starter in the minors, shooting through A ball, being promoted to AAA in 05, throwing 90 innings of 2.99 ERA, 0.99 WHIP ball, before being called up to the Padres. He was eased into ML as a reliever, and he excelled, throwing 47 innings of 1.74 ERA/1.05 WHIP ball.

He had an excellent rookie year in 06, starting in 29 games and relieving in 8 more: 3.71 ERA, (109 ERA+) 1.34 WHIP, 3.77 BB/9, 5.9 K/9 and 0.77 HR/9.

Unfortunately, the next year, he started having injuries, and bounced between the majors and minors, pitching well in neither. In 08, he had shoulder surgery before the season, and threw 39 innings in relief, with a 5.31 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP, not because of homers (still low at 0.7/9 IP) but because of loss of command, leading to almost 6 BB/9 IP.

He had a procedure on his labrum after the end of the season, and youneverknow, he might could bounce back.

I remember watching him pitch vs the Astros at Petco in 06 and thinking - here's ANOTHER local guy who the Astros ignored and if the Braves can have tons of local scouts to grab local talent, why on EARTH can't the Astros, seing as how Texas is one of the most fertile baseball, uh, fields.

It's a low cost gamble and here's hoping it works out.